These traffic safety cones manage to rise above their innate urban utility by virtue of some – dare we say ‘iconic’ – conic characteristics.

Wat Rong Khun (White Temple) in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand is truly a work in progress: construction began in 1997 and is, at press time, ongoing with no end in sight. Nevertheless, tourists are welcome to visit the Buddhism-themed art exhibit designed and owned by eccentric Thai artist Chalermchai Kositpipat but park VERY carefully… or else! Flickr members jay joslin (moonbird) and Bill Vriesema (bvriesem) snapped some of the White Temple complex’s many spooky skull-headed traffic cones in May of 2012 and July of 2015, respectively.

Black Is The New Orange

When it comes to those most solemn of occasions, a garish day-glo orange traffic cone simply will not do. In keeping with the primary function of safety cones, however, the example above sports a bone-white (sorry) central section with contrasting black lettering and a cross. Presumably “funeral cones” displaying Greek Orthodox crosses, Stars of David, the Islamic Star & Crescent and the Flying Spaghetti Monster lie await in storage. Flickr member Andreas-photography captured this rather funereal funeral cone from Essex, UK, in October of 2008.

A Cone With a Peel

Expect something magical when visiting the Downtown Disney District at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA… or at least, expect unexpectedly cute safety cones. This cleverly designed cone evokes the old trope of careless cartoon characters slipping on banana peels – does that ever even happen in real life? Flickr member junaidrao captured this banana peel cone poolside in May of 2017.

Here’s another a-peel-ing safety cone, saved for photographic posterity in front of the Jamba Juice kiosk at Downtown Disney District. Flickr member Sam Howzit was impressed by its presence in December of 2015. We hope Sam didn’t spill his juice (or himself) while trying to get the perfect shot.

Conic Image Search

TIL Google has their own traffic cones… and they’re WAY cheesier than anyone could imagine! OK, points for representing the primary colors of the omnipresent search engine’s logo (well, kinda) but geez, guys, with all your moolah is this really the best you could do? Flickr member Simon Law (sfllaw) couldn’t resist recording this group of Google chromes, er, cones in Mountain View South, CA, back in November of 2006.

Gold @ Gray’s

So the “How to Enjoy Traffic Cones” reception was a thing, who knew? Someone knew enough to customize some traffic cones, mind you, because boring old orange plastic cones would look so out of place at a swanky “reception” featuring traffic cones, amiright? Flickr member chashama Inc. photo-documented the October 2nd, 2009 collaborative exhibition held near the former midtown NYC location of Gray’s Papaya at Eighth Avenue and 37th Street.

“Invariably unique, eye-catching and unpredictable, traffic cones are almost art. Like sculpture, their primary function is to be looked at.” So stated Erik Sanner, event organizer and King Kone. Can we call him that, cuz that would be awesome, just like these golden safety cones. Flickr member Nick Normal caught one of the blinged-up beauties with the sadly-departed Gray’s Papaya in the background. Thanks Nick, now we’re hangry!

Beltway Lament

Indeed, no one should be judged by the color of their, uh, anything but this cone from The Nation’s Capitol proclaims its protest publicly… and pointedly. Flickr member Daniel Lobo (Daquella manera) caught this cone standing up for non-human rights way back in 2009… years before folks started hating on orange.

Corny Cones

How sweet it is… both Candy Corn and this group of traffic cones apparently tinted to match the much-reviled perennial Halloween “treat”. Flickr member Bill Couch came across this curious crop of Candy Corn traffic cones in October of 2009 while seeing the sights of Washington D.C. In related news, Candy Corn traffic cones are a sight worth seeing in Washington D.C.

Flickr member thisisbossi snapped a Candy Corn cone in Washington D.C.’s historic district of Kalorama Triangle, and on October 31st yet! The close-up shot doesn’t indicate whether this was a solitary example or part of a larger group of cones. Either way, you wouldn’t want to lick it – tooth decay would be the least of your problems.

Dick or Jerry?

Obviously, the trio of bright orange safety cones above was meant to be deployed near dangerous levees in Holland… according to my wife, Morgan Fairchild. Yeah, that’s the traffic ticket! Seriously though, where would one actually use cones bearing such an “interesting” legend? A local Pride Parade, perhaps? Flickr member Capes Treasures‘ link to a presumed proprietary website comes up 404 so we’ll have to settle on the ol’ leaky Dutch seawall explanation. Mind yer fingers!

Ground Floor

“The Wet Floor Sign That Wanted To Be a Traffic Cone” would make a great children’s book, according to Flickr member J.G. Park. Since turnabout is fair play, somewhere there’s an orange traffic cone plopped in the middle of an accidental puddle at some supermarket. The wannabe cone was snapped in 2016 while prompting double-takes from folks in Columbia, Missouri.

I Coneface

Whomever drew the scowling visage on the orange traffic cone above needs to be in an artist’s studio, not outside directing traffic or working on some anonymous construction project. Flickr member Rob Swystun zoomed in for an up close & personal view in May of 2012 while prowling the gritty city streets of Winnipeg, Canada… and you can bet he’s not sorry.

Iconic cities come to life in this custom wood table series, their resin streets and waterways glowing through grids of raised wooden architecture, all sitting on top of wrapping thin and dark steel supports.

Crafted by Wood Designs in Warsaw, this array of oak surfaces includes cultural capitals like New York, Berlin, London and Paris, but buyers can select a specific city or neighborhood as well.

In each piece, a layer of resin on top flattens out and protects the surfaces for everyday use, while red, blue and green resins are lit up from below, an effect making the roads and rivers look like retro etchings on a giant circuit board.

“The guiding principle of each of our products is that it is unique and also gives the interior a character in which it is located. I want my products users to give a sense of uniqueness. We believe that every detail matters.”

The Vespampère is slim, light and stylish, recalling a vintage classic from 1948 with an electric motor and other contemporary technological tweaks to bring it in tune with the modern era. Among other neat twists, a mobile phone becomes an integrated component, effectively serving as the vehicle’s dashboard.

Italian designer Giulio Iacchetti’s fresh model draws inspiration from the film-famous silhouette of historical scooters, returning to the lighter look of original models (a plus for urban maneuverability).

The minimalist design is an intentional rejection of heavier new vehicles on the road today, and taps into mobile tech by tying controls and displays (including speedometer, fuel gauge and lights) to a connected smartphone. This gadget, in turn, is housed in a clear compartment, front and center.

The phone can charge off the vehicle’s on-board electrical system, slim rear-view mirrors feature turn signals, and the cantilevered seat links back to the very first Vespa launched by the company over a half-century ago.

Thanks in part to heat-absorbing materials and colors, cities tend to be warmer than their natural surroundings, and in hot places with lots of dark roads like Los Angeles that can prove a serious public health hazard.The mayor has pledged to reduce temperatures in the city by 3 degrees over the next 20 years, in part by dealing with urban heat island effects in new and different ways.

As part of this promise to help make bring down temperatures for its millions of residents, LA is trying something that could dramatically change its urban landscape: repainting roads in white. The aim is to reflect rather than absorb heat and so far the results are extremely promising.

“We found that on average the area covered in CoolSeal is 10 degrees cooler than black asphalt on the same parking lot,” said Greg Spotts, the assistant director of the Bureau of Street Services for San Fernando Valley, an area with particularly severe heat problems.

It’s not just about open public spaces either: reducing exterior temperatures has impacts on adjacent interiors. Heat reductions outside and mean cooler spaces inside area homes and businesses. In turn, this can help residents and owners save on cooling costs. It also isn’t just a daytime problem: heat captured during the day is released into the night air, keeping things hotter around the clock.

The process doesn’t come cheap, however: each coat lasts for around seven years but prices out around $40,000 per linear mile. If it works, though, the cost could be offset in part by savings on other fronts, in addition to making for a more healthy metropolis all around. Meanwhile, other strategies are also in play — the city is looking to make roofs brighter, for instance, and bring more green into the mix. (via Inhabitat and L.A. Times, images by Greg Spotts and Giuseppe Milo).

We all understand intuitively that different urban layouts lead to different kinds of cities, but a new book analyzes these on a block-to-block basis to illustrate how this civic anatomy works on a cellular level. In Urban Being: Anatomy & Identity of the City, Robin Renner uses anatomical-style classifications to look at urban landscapes through a kind of giant microscope.

Overlaying use patterns and transit networks, the reader begins to understand what types of urban “cells” make for functional built environments. Think of it like genome sequencing: through it, planners and architects can learn how to identify problems and, in some cases, address them or head them off in advance.

A combination of topography, transportation networks and design ambitions go a long way toward shaping cells in global cities, forming grids and networks familiar from satellite views of cities. All this in turn shapes the kinds of buildings and functions one finds within a given city.

At the most basic level there are “block cells” made up of arterial routes — these tend to be packed with activity, though specific functions vary on long and short sides of a block (shorter are often busier). These are often found in financial centers of major metropolitan areas.

There are also “linear cells” where two single-direction roads pass one another, which can form the basis of walkable commercial hubs.

Inside “central cells,” where traffic is pushed to the periphery, pedestrians can dominate, generating demand for things like stores and restaurants. Barcelona, for instance, has been implementing a plan to turn sets of blocks into single superblocks, leaving central zones free of cars.

In the process of analyzing all of these types and how they work together in neighborhoods, Renner has devised some rules of thumb, like: residential cells should be between 1200 and 2400 feet across. Industrial cells, which often grow up around transit routes (railroads, rivers and lakes) can grow too big and isolated unless located close to worker housing or connected via public transit. These kinds of decisions, says Renner, can help cities keep a healthy balance of livability and functionality.

“There is a long tradition of comparing cities with organisms as they have similarities in their anatomy, explains the author. “But since cities are brought into life by the presence of people, they are less living beings than urban beings with their own identity. This is based on the behaviors, needs and requirements of the residents. In other words, the anatomy of the city informs its identity.”